Individual Health Insurance

Insurance & Financial Services, Inc can assist you with your Individual health insurance purchased through the exchange, or off-exchange (directly from the health insurance carrier).  Annual open enrollment window for individual coverage runs from November 1 to January 31. Outside of open enrollment, you need a qualifying even to trigger a special enrollment period.

Individual health insurance was historically less expensive than group coverage (although employers usually pay a significant portion of the premiums for group coverage). This was because individual plans were medically underwritten in nearly every state prior to 2014, making pre-existing conditions an obstacle to getting coverage. In addition, the level of coverage was traditionally less than what group plans offered (for example, most group plans covered maternity, while individual plans typically excluded this benefit before the ACA mandated it).

All of this changed in 2014 though, when the bulk of the ACA’s reforms took effect. Individual plans became more benefit-rich with the introduction of the ACA’s essential health benefits, and also became guaranteed issue (although enrollment is limited to open enrollment and special enrollment periods). Subsidies are available to help millions of people pay a portion of the premiums, as long as they purchase through the exchanges.